U.S. patent number 9,570,796 [Application Number 14/064,800] was granted by the patent office on 2017-02-14 for antenna for mobile device having metallic surface.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Intel IP Corporation. The grantee listed for this patent is Osama Nafeth Alrabadi, Peter Bundgaard, Mikael Bergholz Knudsen, Poul Olesen, Gert F. Pedersen, Alexandru Daniel Tatomirescu. Invention is credited to Osama Nafeth Alrabadi, Peter Bundgaard, Mikael Bergholz Knudsen, Poul Olesen, Gert F. Pedersen, Alexandru Daniel Tatomirescu.
United States Patent |
9,570,796 |
Alrabadi , et al. |
February 14, 2017 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Antenna for mobile device having metallic surface
Abstract
An antenna having a plurality of ports coupled to at least one
radiator opening or protuberance formed on a metallic surface. A
plurality of modulators are coupled to the plurality of respective
ports and configured to modulate phase or amplitude of a plurality
of signals radiated at the plurality of respective ports. A
combiner is configured to combine the modulated signals to
substantially cancel power reflected from the plurality of
respective ports, wherein the plurality of respective ports are
functionally aggregated into a single port.
Inventors: |
Alrabadi; Osama Nafeth
(Aalborg, DK), Tatomirescu; Alexandru Daniel
(Aalborg, DK), Knudsen; Mikael Bergholz (Gistrup,
DK), Pedersen; Gert F. (Storvorde, DK),
Olesen; Poul (Stovring, DK), Bundgaard; Peter
(Aalborg, DK) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Alrabadi; Osama Nafeth
Tatomirescu; Alexandru Daniel
Knudsen; Mikael Bergholz
Pedersen; Gert F.
Olesen; Poul
Bundgaard; Peter |
Aalborg
Aalborg
Gistrup
Storvorde
Stovring
Aalborg |
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A |
DK
DK
DK
DK
DK
DK |
|
|
Assignee: |
Intel IP Corporation (Santa
Clara, CA)
|
Family
ID: |
52994788 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/064,800 |
Filed: |
October 28, 2013 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20150116158 A1 |
Apr 30, 2015 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01Q
13/103 (20130101); H01Q 1/44 (20130101); H01Q
1/243 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01Q
13/10 (20060101); H01Q 1/24 (20060101); H01Q
1/44 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
Rainville, et al., Magnetic Tuning of a Microstrip Patch Antenna
Fabricated on a Ferrite Film, IEEE Microw. and Guided Wave Lett.,
vol. 2, No. 12, pp. 483-485, Dec. 1992. cited by applicant .
Mishra, et al., "Tuning of Microstrip Antenna on Ferrite
Substrate", IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 41, No. 2, pp.
230-233, Feb. 1993. cited by applicant .
Aberle, et al., Reconfigurable Antennas for Wireless Devices, IEEE
Antennas and Propagation Magazine, vol. 45, No. 6, pp. 148-154,
Dec. 2003. cited by applicant .
Panayi, et al., Tuning Techniques for Planar Inverted-F Antenna,
Electronics Letters, vol. 37, No. 16, pp. 1003-1004, Aug. 2001.
cited by applicant .
Sheta, et al., A Widely Tuneable Compact Patch Antenna, IEEE
Transactions on Antennas and Propagation Letters, vol. 7, pp.
40-42, 2008. cited by applicant .
Peroulis, et al., Design of Reconfigurable Slot Antennas, IEEE
Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 53, No. 2, pp.
645-654, Feb. 2005. cited by applicant .
Xiong, et al., A Simple Compact Reconfigurable Slot Antenna With a
Very Wide Tuning Range, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and
Propagation, vol. 58, No. 11, pp. 3725-3728, Nov. 2010. cited by
applicant .
Kawasaki, A Slot Antenna With Electronically Tunable Length,
International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation Society, AP-S
Digest, vol. 1, pp. 130-133, Jun. 1991. cited by applicant .
Ollikainen, et al., Low-Loss Tuning Circuits for Frequency-Tunable
Small Resonant Antennas, Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile
Radio Communications, vol. 4, pp. 1882-1887, Sep. 15-18, 2002.
cited by applicant .
Valkonen, et al., Broadband Tuning of Mobile Terminal Antennas,
Second European Conference on Antennas and Propagation, 2007 (EuCap
2007), pp. 1-6, Nov. 11-16, 2007. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Nguyen; Hoang V
Assistant Examiner: Bouizza; Michael
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Schiff Hardin LLP
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. An antenna, comprising: a plurality of antenna ports coupled to
at least one radiator opening or protuberance formed on a metallic
surface; a plurality of radio frequency analog modulators coupled
to the plurality of respective antenna ports and configured to
modulate phase or amplitude of a plurality of signals radiated at
the plurality of respective ports; and a combiner configured to
combine the modulated signals to substantially cancel power
reflected from the plurality of respective antenna ports, wherein
the plurality of radio frequency modulators and the combiner form
an antenna matching circuit with a single output port and the
plurality of antenna ports.
2. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the metallic surface is an
all-metallic case.
3. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the at least one radiator
opening or protuberance comprises any arbitrary shape.
4. The antenna of claim 3, wherein the at least one radiator
opening or protuberance comprises a shape in a form of a logo.
5. The antenna of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of
radiator openings or protuberances or a combination of radiator
openings and protuberances, wherein each of the plurality of
radiator openings and protuberances comprises at least one
port.
6. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the antenna is a multiband
antenna, and each of the at least one radiator opening or
protuberance corresponds to a respective frequency band.
7. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radio frequency
modulators are further configured to modulate the phase or
amplitude of signals radiated at the respective antenna ports,
wherein a first of the plurality of antenna ports is a feeding port
and a second of the plurality of antenna ports is a transceiving
port.
8. The antenna of claim 1, wherein at least one of the radio
frequency modulators is a dynamic radio frequency modulator
configured to compensate for impedance mismatch introduced during
operation of the antenna.
9. The antenna of claim 8, wherein the dynamic radio frequency
modulator comprises a tunable electric component.
10. The antenna of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of
detectors coupled to one or more of the plurality of antenna ports
and configured to detect impedance mismatch of at least one of the
plurality of antenna ports during operation.
11. The antenna of claim 1, wherein at least one of the radio
frequency modulators is a static radio frequency modulator.
12. The antenna of claim 1, wherein at least one of the radio
frequency modulators is comprised of a tunable transmission
line.
13. The antenna of claim 12, wherein the tunable transmission line
is a coaxial cable.
14. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the at least one radiator
opening or protuberance is selected from the group consisting of a
slot antenna, patch antenna, loop antenna, dipole antenna, monopole
antenna, button screen frame, logo, and connector.
15. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the radiator opening is a
slot.
16. A handheld device, comprising: the antenna of claim 1; a power
amplifier coupled to the combiner; and a transceiver coupled to the
power amplifier.
17. The antenna of claim 16, wherein the at least one radiator
opening or protuberance comprises any arbitrary shape.
18. An antenna, comprising: a plurality of antenna ports coupled to
at least one radiator opening or protuberance formed on a metallic
surface; a radio frequency analog modulating means, respectively
coupled to the plurality of antenna ports, for modulating phase or
amplitude of signals radiated at the plurality of respective
antenna ports; and a combining means for combining the modulated
signals to substantially cancel power reflected from the plurality
of antenna ports, wherein the plurality of radio frequency
modulators means and the combining means form an antenna matching
means with a single output port and the plurality of antenna
ports.
19. The antenna of claim 18, wherein the at least one radiator
opening or protuberance comprises any arbitrary shape.
20. A method of operating an antenna, the method comprising:
modulating, by a plurality of radio frequency analog modulators,
phase or amplitude of signals radiated at a plurality of respective
antenna ports coupled to at least one radiator opening or
protuberance formed on a metallic surface; and combining, by a
combiner, the modulated signals to substantially cancel power
reflected from the plurality of antenna ports, wherein the
plurality of radio frequency modulators and the combiner form an
antenna matching circuit with a single output port and the
plurality of antenna ports.
21. The method of claim 20, further comprising detecting impedance
mismatch of at least one of the plurality of antenna ports.
22. The method of claim 20, wherein the modulating is performed
during operation of the antenna.
23. The method of claim 20, further comprising modulating the phase
or amplitude of signals radiated at the plurality of respective
antenna ports wherein a first of the plurality of antenna ports is
a feeding port and a second of the plurality of antenna ports is a
transceiving port.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
Embodiments described herein generally relate to an antenna for a
mobile device having a metallic surface, a mobile device having the
antenna, and a method of operating the antenna.
BACKGROUND
Metallic cases have the potential to offer designers the freedom to
make mobile devices very thin. There is design trend toward
all-metal cases, but there is also a fundamental limitation to the
percentage of the mobile device case area that can be metallic.
Slots in the surface of the metallic case may be used to obtain
acceptable radiation performance. However, when the size of the
mobile device is small compared to the frequency of operation, the
inefficient radiation and narrow-band nature of slot antennas are
drawbacks. Furthermore, slots are highly susceptible to detuning by
the presence of the user's relatively high dielectric and lossy
tissue. To combat its narrow band nature, a slot antenna can be
made tunable to cover an instantaneous bandwidth. However, due to
the wide bandwidth used by the Long Term Evolution (LTE)-advanced
protocol, tuning of single slot antennas cannot cover all
instantaneous bandwidths required for future wireless
platforms.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a handheld device having
an antenna in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating an antenna in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 2B is a circuit diagram corresponding to the schematic diagram
of FIG. 2A.
FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating S-parameters versus frequency for
the antenna of FIGS. 2A and 2B.
FIG. 4A is a graph illustrating reflection coefficient versus
frequency when the antenna of FIGS. 2A and 2B is tuned to 830 MHz
in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 4B is a graph illustrating network efficiency verses frequency
when the antenna of FIGS. 2A and 2B is tuned to 830 MHz in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 5A is a graph illustrating reflection coefficient versus
frequency when the antenna of FIGS. 2A and 2B is tuned to 698 MHz
in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 5B is a graph illustrating network efficiency verses frequency
when the antenna of FIGS. 2A and 2B is tuned to 698 MHz in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating an antenna
in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
The present disclosure is directed to an antenna having a plurality
of ports coupled to at least one radiator opening or protuberance
formed on a metallic surface. A plurality of modulators are coupled
to the plurality of respective ports and configured to modulate
phase or amplitude of a plurality of signals radiated at the
plurality of respective ports. A combiner is configured to combine
the modulated signals to substantially cancel power reflected from
the plurality of respective ports, wherein the plurality of
respective ports are functionally aggregated into a single
port.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a handheld device 100
having an antenna in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
Handheld device 100 includes a metallic case 110, feeding network
170, power amplifier (PA)/low noise amplifier (LNA) 180, and
transceiver 190.
Metallic case 110 comprises a surface having openings and/or
protuberances, any of which can function as a radiator of an
antenna. These openings/protuberances may comprise any arbitrary
shape, and include, for example, screen frame 120, dock and power
connector 130, button 140, volume button 150, logo 160, and/or
openings on the surface of the metallic case 110 to accommodate the
respective components. A "logo" is loosely defined as a graphic
mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises,
organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant
public recognition. The openings/protuberances may alternatively be
any of a slot antenna, patch antenna, loop antenna, dipole antenna,
or monopole antenna. The length of an opening/protuberance
determines its bandwidth, which is the range of frequencies over
which the radiator opening/protuberance can properly radiate or
receive energy. It is appreciated that the openings and
protuberances listed are merely examples, and the disclosure is not
limited in this respect.
A port (not shown in FIG. 1) may be located on any
opening/protuberance that is configured to function as a radiator.
A "port" is loosely defined as any location on an
opening/protuberance where voltage and current can be delivered.
There can be one port, or alternatively a plurality of ports, on a
single radiator opening/protuberance.
Feeding network 170 includes vector modulators 172-176 and combiner
177. Vector modulators 172-176, which couple combiner 177 with
respective ports of the radiator openings/protuberances, are
configured to modulate phase and/or amplitude of signals radiated
at the respective ports.
Combiner 177 is configured to combine the vector modulated signals
such that power reflected from the ports is substantially
cancelled, and as a result, the ports are functionally aggregated
into a single port. A more detailed explanation follows.
By way of background, power transfer is maximized when electrical
components are designed to have matching impedance. This is known
simply as "impedance matching." The industry standard impedance for
electrical components is 50 ohms, though the disclosure is not
limited in this respect.
Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) is a measure that numerically
describes how well electrical components are impedance-matched.
VSWR is a function of the reflection coefficient, which describes
the amount of power reflected. The smaller the VSWR, the better the
components are matched, and the greater the power delivered. The
ideal value of VSWR is 1.0, which indicates that no power is
reflected and all power is instead radiated. On the other hand,
when the impedances of components are not well matched, at least
some portion of power is reflected back instead of being radiated.
The superposition of reflected waves traveling back and forth on a
transmission line forms a standing wave. The VSWR represents the
ratio between the maximum and minimum amplitude of the standing
wave.
Turning back to FIG. 1, each vector modulator 172-176 is tuned such
that its impedance matches its port. The result should be that
during antenna transmission no significant amount of power is
reflected back from the port, but is instead radiated from the
corresponding radiator opening/protuberance. If the impedance is
not well matched, on the other hand, power is reflected back
towards combiner 177 rather than reaching the port. The resulting
standing wave along the vector modulator 172-176 can cause
inefficiencies and even damage to PA/LNA 180. As those of skill
should appreciate, similar concepts apply during antenna reception.
Combiner 177 is bidirectional; during antenna reception is
functionally a splitter, but for the sake of simplicity, the more
general term "combiner" is used.
A vector modulator 172-176 may be any phase shifter implementation
or tunable transmission line. In the exemplary embodiment a coaxial
cable has been chosen for ease of fabrication, but the disclosure
is not limited in this respect. By varying the electrical length of
vector modulator 172-176 (i.e., the coaxial cable), the impedance
of the vector modulator 172-176, and thus the input impedance of
the respective port, is determined.
Each port may be affected by any other port due to coupling.
Coupling, as shown in the figure by the dotted double arrows, is
radiating power absorbed by one port when a nearby port is
operating. It is appreciated that in operation each port may couple
to any or all of the other ports, but only some of the dotted
double arrows are shown for the sake of simplicity.
Combiner 177 is configured to combine modulated signals such that
power reflected from ports is substantially cancelled. If a
significant amount of power is reflected from a port returns to the
output of PA/LNA 180, the resulting standing wave may reduce the
efficiency of or burn the PA/LNA 180.
It is appreciated that there may be more than one combiner.
Different vector modulators 172-176 may be coupled to different
combiners, and then the plurality of combiners may be coupled so as
to combine all of the modulated signals.
Remote feeding of a port is possible due to port coupling. Energy
radiating from a first port may be coupled to and radiated
partially or almost completely from a second port. A port being fed
is therefore physically separated from a port doing the actual
radiating. Also, it is appreciated that remote feeding is not
limited to two ports, but may include any number of ports.
As mentioned above, the length of an opening/protuberance
determines its bandwidth. Openings/protuberances may be configured
to operate at different bandwidths, making metal body 110 a
multi-bandwidth antenna. The openings/protuberances chosen to
radiate at a particular time of operation would be determined based
on the frequency band of a base station with which the mobile
device is communicating.
Modulating by vector modulator 172-176 of the radiated signals may
be accomplished statically or dynamically. Static tuning generally
occurs at the time of mobile device manufacture, and may include
setting the length of the vector modulator 172-176. Dynamic tuning,
on the other hand, occurs in the field, making it possible to
compensate for impedance detuning introduced by a user's influence,
thus eliminating mismatch loss or reduction in the PA/LNA 180's
efficiency. When user grabs a phone, power detectors may detect
detuning. Vector modulators 172-176 would respond by adjusting the
bandwidth channels back into tune. Alternatively, when a user's
finger covers one port, other ports can be used to radiate
efficiently.
Tuning techniques may use tunable substrates or tunable components.
The tunable components are built based on electrically controlled
reactances or on passive reactances with a switching component.
Electrically controlled reactances are mainly varactor diodes, also
known as variable capacitor diode or varicap, which deliver
different capacitances in function on the voltage impressed on its
terminals. Switching components can be electronic or
electromechanical. Electronic switches are semiconductor switches,
such as PIN diodes and reactive Field Effect Transistor (FET).
Electromechanical switches rely on RF Micro-Electro-Mechanical
(MEMS) switches.
FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram 200A illustrating an antenna with
feeding network in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 2B
is a circuit diagram 200B corresponding to the schematic diagram
200A of FIG. 2A.
In this exemplary embodiment, logo 220 is made into an antenna for
a mobile device. In this example, the metal plate size is 120
mm.times.55 mm, representing the smart phone form factor. Logo 220
is etched into a copper plate having two ports, port 1 and port 2.
Logo radiator element 220 has a size of 34 mm.times.24 mm. When
port 1 and port 2 radiate, there is a coupling between the port 1
and port 2, as indicated by the dotted double arrow. Vector
modulators 240, 250 modulate phase and/or amplitude of signals
radiated at the respective ports. Combiner 230 combines the
modulated signals such that power reflected from the ports is
substantially cancelled, whereby the ports are functionally
aggregated into a single port. By merely modulating the phase
and/or amplitude of the radiating signals, ports 1, 2 can be tuned
to cover any desired communication bandwidth.
FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating S-parameters between port 1 and port
2 versus frequency for the antenna of FIG. 2A, as measured using a
Vector Network Analyzer (VNA).
S-parameters describe the relationship between ports. S12
represents the power received at port 1 relative to the power input
to port 2. S21 represents the power received at port 2 relative to
the power input to port 1; S12 is the equivalent to S21. S21=0 dB
means that all power delivered to port 1 ends up at the port 2.
S11 represents how much power is reflected from port 1, and hence
is known as the reflection coefficient (sometimes written as gamma
I.sup.- or return loss). S11 is directly related to VSWR described
above. Where S11=0 dB, all the power is reflected from port 1 and
nothing is radiated. At 0.5 GHz, port 1 radiates virtually nothing,
as S11 is close to 0 dB, so all of the power is reflected. Port 1's
natural resonance, that is the frequency at which the port radiates
best, is 1.9 GHz, where S11=-22 dB. It can be seen at this, there
is strong coupling between the two ports, as indicated by curve
S21.
FIG. 4A is a graph illustrating reflection coefficient versus
frequency when the antenna of circuit diagram 200 shown in FIGS. 2A
and 2B is tuned to 830 MHz in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment. FIG. 4B is a corresponding graph illustrating network
efficiency verses frequency. The two coaxial cables 240, 250 are,
in this exemplary embodiment, 102 mm and 94 mm long,
respectively.
The network efficiency represents the ratio between the total power
accepted by the antenna and the input power. The closer to 0 dB,
which represents an efficiency of 1, the more efficient the
network. The total efficiency of the antenna is related to the
network efficiency by the following Equation (1):
.eta._Tot=.eta._Network*.eta._Rad (Equation 1) where .eta._Tot is
the total efficiency, .eta._Network is the network efficiency and
.eta._Rad is the radiation efficiency. As can be seen in FIG. 4A,
Port 1's natural resonance is at 830 MHz. The figure shows that the
radiation efficiency of the antenna is high, around 90%, so the
main source of losses is the network.
FIG. 5A is a graph illustrating reflection coefficient versus
frequency, and FIG. 5B a graph illustrating network efficiency
verses frequency, when the same antenna of circuit diagram 200 is
tuned to 698 MHz, as opposed to 830 MHz in FIGS. 4A and 4B, in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
By increasing the physical or electrical length of the coaxial
cables 240, 250 by only 15%, the antenna is tuned to the lower 698
MHz band. In practice the coaxial cable 240, 250 length increase or
decrease can be implemented be any tuning method, such as impedance
loading or switched transmission line. As it can be seen in the
figures, Port 1's natural resonance is at 698 MHz.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating an antenna
in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
At step 610, the phase and/or amplitude of signals radiated at
respective ports coupled to at least one radiator opening formed on
a surface of a metallic case are modulated.
Next, at step 630, the modulated signals are combined such that
reflected portions of the radiated signals are substantially
cancelled.
Optionally, at Step 620, if dynamic modulation is desired,
impedance mismatch of at least one of the ports is detected before
the combining step is performed.
Driving an antenna with multiple independently-fed ports enables
the use of unconventional antenna structures, relaxes design
requirements, and permits all-metal bodies for the mobile devices.
Any feeding method may be used to combine arbitrarily shaped
openings/protuberances on a surface of a metallic case of a mobile
device, thereby transforming the metallic case into a multi-band or
wideband antenna that has redundancy to the user's disturbance and
full control of the aggregate system bandwidth. In addition,
electromagnetic coupling between ports helps to distribute the
current concentration, thereby limiting conductive losses and
enabling separation of a feeding port from a radiating port.
The ports can be tuned to aggregate bandwidth carriers in
accordance with the LTE-advanced standard. As is known, carriers
can be aggregated in a manner that is intra-band contiguous,
intra-band non-contiguous, or inter-band.
The following examples pertain to further embodiments.
Example 1 is an antenna comprising a plurality of ports coupled to
at least one radiator opening or protuberance formed on a metallic
surface, a plurality of modulators coupled to the plurality of
respective ports and configured to modulate phase or amplitude of a
plurality of signals radiated at the plurality of respective ports,
and a combiner configured to combine the modulated signals to
substantially cancel power reflected from the plurality of
respective ports, wherein the plurality of respective ports are
functionally aggregated into a single port.
In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally
include that the metallic surface is an all-metallic case.
In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally
include that the at least one radiator opening or protuberance
comprises any arbitrary shape.
In Example 4, the subject matter of Example 3 can optionally
include that the radiator opening or protuberance comprises a shape
in a form of a logo.
In Example 5, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally
include a plurality of radiator openings or protuberances or a
combination of radiator openings and protuberances, wherein each of
the plurality of radiator openings and/or protuberances comprises
at least one port.
In Example 6, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally
include that the antenna is a multiband antenna, and each of the at
least one radiator opening or protuberance corresponds to a
respective frequency band.
In Example 7, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally
include that the plurality of modulators are further configured to
modulate the phase or amplitude of signals radiated at the
respective ports, wherein a first of the plurality of ports is a
feeding port and a second of the plurality of ports is a
transceiving port.
In Example 8, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally
include that at least one of the modulators is a dynamic modulator
configured to compensate for impedance mismatch introduced during
operation of the antenna.
In Example 9, the subject matter of Example 8 can optionally
include that the dynamic modulator comprises a tunable electric
component.
In Example 10, the subject matter of Example 8 can optionally
include a plurality of detectors coupled to one or more of the
plurality of ports and configured to detect impedance mismatch of
at least one of the plurality of ports during operation.
In Example 11, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally
include that at least one of the modulators is a static
modulator.
In Example 12, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally
include that at least one of the modulators is comprised of a
tunable transmission line.
In Example 13, the subject matter of Example 12 can optionally
include that the tunable transmission line is a coaxial cable.
In Example 14, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally
include that the at least one radiator opening or protuberance is
selected from the group consisting of a slot antenna, patch
antenna, loop antenna, dipole antenna, monopole antenna, button
screen frame, logo, and connector.
In Example 15, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally
include that the radiator opening is a slot.
Example 16 is a handheld device comprising the antenna of Example
1, a power amplifier coupled to the combiner, and a transceiver
coupled to the power amplifier.
In Example 17, the subject matter of Example 16 can optionally
include that the at least one radiator opening or protuberance
comprises any arbitrary shape.
Example 18 is an antenna comprising a plurality of ports coupled to
at least one radiator opening or protuberance formed on a metallic
surface, a modulating means, respectively coupled to the plurality
of ports, for modulating phase or amplitude of signals radiated at
the plurality of respective ports, and a combining means for
combining the modulated signals to substantially cancel power
reflected from the plurality of ports, wherein the plurality of
ports are functionally aggregated into a single port.
In Example 19, the subject matter of Example 18 can optionally
include that the at least one radiator opening or protuberance
comprises any arbitrary shape.
Example 20 is a method of operating an antenna, the method
comprising modulating phase or amplitude of signals radiated at a
plurality of respective ports coupled to at least one radiator
opening or protuberance formed on a metallic surface, and combining
the modulated signals to substantially cancel power reflected from
the plurality of ports, wherein the plurality of ports are
functionally aggregated into a single port.
In Example 21, the subject matter of Example 20 can optionally
include detecting impedance mismatch of at least one of the
plurality of ports.
In Example 22, the subject matter of Example 20 can optionally
include that the modulating is performed during operation of the
antenna.
In Example 23, the subject matter of Example 20 can optionally
include modulating the phase or amplitude of signals radiated at
the plurality of respective ports wherein a first of the plurality
of ports is a feeding port and a second of the plurality of ports
is a transceiving port.
In Example 24, the subject matter of any of Examples 1-2 can
optionally include that the at least one radiator opening or
protuberance comprises any arbitrary shape.
In Example 25, the subject matter of any of Examples 1-3 can
optionally include that the radiator opening or protuberance
comprises a shape in a form of a logo.
In Example 26, the subject matter of any of Examples 1-4 can
optionally include a plurality of radiator openings or
protuberances or a combination of radiator openings and
protuberances, wherein each of the plurality of radiator openings
and protuberances comprises at least one port.
In Example 27, the subject matter of any of Examples 1-4 can
optionally include that the antenna is a multiband antenna, and
each of the at least one radiator opening or protuberance
corresponds to a respective frequency band.
In Example 28, the subject matter of any of Examples 1-6 can
optionally include that the plurality of modulators are further
configured to modulate the phase or amplitude of signals radiated
at the respective ports, wherein a first of the plurality of ports
is a feeding port and a second of the plurality of ports is a
transceiving port.
In Example 29, the subject matter of any of Examples 1-7 can
optionally include that at least one of the modulators is a dynamic
modulator configured to compensate for impedance mismatch
introduced during operation of the antenna.
In Example 30, the subject matter of Example 29 can optionally
include that the dynamic modulator comprises a tunable electric
component.
In Example 31, the subject matter of Example 29 can optionally
include a plurality of detectors coupled to one or more plurality
of ports and configured to detect impedance mismatch of at least
one of the plurality of ports during operation.
In Example 32, the subject matter of any of Examples 1-9 can
optionally include that wherein at least one of the modulators is a
static modulator.
In Example 33, the subject matter of Example 32 can optionally
include that at least one of the modulators is comprised of a
tunable transmission line.
In Example 34, the subject matter of Example 33 can optionally
include that the tunable transmission line is a coaxial cable.
In Example 35, the subject matter of any of Examples 1-12 can
optionally include that the at least one radiator opening or
protuberance is selected from the group consisting of a slot
antenna, patch antenna, loop antenna, dipole antenna, monopole
antenna, button screen frame, logo, and connector.
In Example 36, the subject matter of any of Examples 20-21 can
optionally include that the modulating is performed during
operation of the antenna.
In Example 37, the subject matter of any of Examples 20-22 can
optionally include modulating the phase or amplitude of signals
radiated at the respective ports, wherein a first of the plurality
of ports is a feeding port and a second of the plurality of ports
is a transceiving port.
Example 38 is an apparatus substantially as shown and
described.
Example 39 is a method substantially as shown and described.
While the foregoing has been described in conjunction with
exemplary embodiment, it is understood that the term "exemplary" is
merely meant as an example, rather than the best or optimal.
Accordingly, the disclosure is intended to cover alternatives,
modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the
scope of the disclosure.
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described
herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the
art that a variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations
may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and described
without departing from the scope of the present application. This
application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of
the specific embodiments discussed herein.
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